Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Staff Directory

Joshua M. Greenberg

Dr. Greenberg received his Bachelor of Arts in History of Science, Medicine and Technology from the Johns Hopkins University, and both Masters and Doctoral degrees from Cornell University's Department of Science & Technology Studies. His dissertation work on the early history of the consumer videocassette recorder and the invention of the video rental industry was published as "From Betamax to Blockbuster" by the MIT Press (2008). The research was notable for the extensive use of online media to collect oral histories of early video store owners, employees and customers.

After completing his graduate work, Dr. Greenberg worked as Associate Director for Research Projects at George Mason University’s Center for History and New Media, as well as Research Assistant Professor in the University’s Department of History and Art History. At CHNM, he co-founded the Zotero project, developed and promoted ways of using the Internet to further historical research, and helped build several systems that eventually evolved into the content management platform Omeka.

Immediately prior to joining the Foundation, Dr. Greenberg was the New York Public Library's first Director of Digital Strategy and Scholarship, where he developed and led a digital strategy centered on building online visitors and deepening engagement through access to collections both on Library websites and third-party platforms and increased exposure to staff expertise via blogs and other social media.

He is an active member of the broader digital library and digital humanities communities, serving on a number of advisory boards and program committees, and maintains active research and teaching interests in the history and sociology of information technology, the dynamics of public engagement with expert knowledge, and the methodological implications of new digital technologies for research.

He has broad experience and understanding of the content and research needs of traditional scholarly communities as well as digitally-networked services and tools to support myriad forms of public engagement and participation.